The 20 best countries for gender equality

- Iceland
- Norway
- Finland
- Rwanda
- Sweden
- Nicaragua
- Slovenia
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Philippines
- France
- Germany
- Namibia
- Denmark
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Bolivia
- Bulgaria
- South Africa
- Latvia

The 10 worst countries for gender equality

- Yemen
- Pakistan
- Syria
- Chad
- Iran
- Mali
- Saudi Arabia
- Lebanon
- Morocco
- Jordan

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/mapped-the-best-and-worst-
countries-for-gender-equality/

About workplace gender equality

Workplace gender equality is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same
rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender.

Australia, along with many countries worldwide, has made significant progress towards
gender equality in recent decades, particularly in education, health and female workforce
participation.
However, the gender gap in the Australian workforce is still prevalent; women continue to
earn less than men, are less likely to advance their careers as far as men, and accumulate
less retirement or superannuation savings. At the same time, men have less access to family-
friendly policies such as parental leave or flexible working arrangements than women.

The aim of gender equality in the workplace is to achieve broadly equal outcomes for
women and men, not necessarily outcomes that are exactly the same for all. To achieve this
requires:

- Workplaces to provide equal pay for work of equal or comparable value

- Removal of barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce
- Access to all occupations and industries, including leadership roles, regardless of
gender; and
- Elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly in relation to family
and caring responsibilities.

Achieving gender equality is important for workplaces not only because it is ‘fair’ and ‘the
right thing to do,’ but because it is also linked to a country’s overall economic performance.
Workplace gender equality is associated with:

- Improved national productivity and economic growth

- Increased organisational performance
- Enhanced ability of companies to attract talent and retain employees
- Enhanced organisational reputation.

https://www.wgea.gov.au/learn/about-workplace-gender-equality

Examples of Gender Inequality in the Workplace

To add to the stereotypical gender roles women have been trying to repair for years, women
are much more likely than men to work in service occupations like personal care aides,
home health aides, nursing assistants, and other roles that include a gentle touch. Although
these occupations are on the rise as far as growth for the upcoming years, the median
annual earnings for these jobs are less than $25,000 per year. In addition, women are less
likely than men to work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”)
occupations; jobs that are stereotypically more demanding, and meant to be fulfilled by men.
According to the report, only 4.6% of women work in STEM occupations, compared to 10.3%
of men.

Although the U.S. as whole needs to reconsider how it treats women in the workplace, there
is a little bit of sunshine amongst the clouds. The top five states with the most employment
and earning opportunities for women are Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, and Connecticut, respectively. Unfortunately, those women living in West Virginia,
Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas are experiencing the least opportunities. For
example, the median annual earnings for women working full-time in D.C. is approximately
$60,000, compared to a mere $30,300 for women with the same job characteristics living in
West Virginia. The report also states that in general, women working in the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic regions have a better earnings composite index than women working in the
South. Much of this has to do with the economy of each state; however, the gender gap
widens after age 35. Women statistically go from earning about 90% of what men are paid,
to roughly 75-85% after turning 35. While higher education is generally an effective tool for
increasing earnings, it has not proven itself to be an effective tool against the gender wage
gap.

https://www.ncemploymentattorneys.com/blog/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace/

Why do gender inequalities exist?

Tradition and culture
The tradition of a society is its archaic beliefs and norms that dictate the people around. It’s
due to cultural and societal sentiments women are degraded and considered inferior to men.
In fact, some of them men in villages don’t even support women leadership.

Lack of education
Education is the key to mitigate gender inequality. But lack of it results in female feticide,
child marriage and honor killing. Inadequate education also leads to less attention to a girl
child’s education and future, while boy’s education is given top-most priority.

Social stigmas
For eons, women face discrimination against men. Be it workplace, home or family gathering,
women are always treated inferior compared to male counterparts – the reason being age-
old social stigmas and prejudices.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-gender-inequalities-exist

How To Stop Gender Inequality In The Workplace

Drive Skills Development Equally
There’s a false belief that men are advancing to higher pay grades and sustaining the wage
gap because they are more qualified. This is not the case. “Women are hitting the glass
ceiling earlier than people realize”, said Rachel Thomas, president of LeanIn, a group
founded by Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg. “Men are off to the races and women are
starting to see hurdles right out of the gate.” [2]

In some cases, this disparity is the result of differing ambitions and definitions of success.
Women have been taught to strive for different things, and until that changes, they may find
themselves choosing career paths that are safer and more secure. This does not make these
roles less important. When you’re investing in developing the skills of your team, don’t
restrict it to the people who you consider to be doing the “hardest” or “riskiest” jobs. That
approach can unintentionally widen the gender gap. Instead, offer employees at every level
and in every department an opportunity to improve.
Create Role Models
In some organizations, women have few role models to look up to. They can lose faith when
they don’t see people like themselves advancing to leadership positions. A 2017 study by
Grant Thornton shows that globally, women hold an average of 25% of senior management
roles and only 12% of CEO roles.

A push for more women at the helm can have a trickle down effect that inspires other
women to aspire to the executive level. Take Susan Wojcicki, for example, the CEO of
YouTube [3]. As a computer science graduate from Harvard and Google’s 16th employee,
she earned her way up the tech ladder. Now, she runs one of the world’s most innovative
companies. Wojcicki has been at the forefront of advocating for equality and inclusion at
YouTube: “We’ve supported underrepresented groups, established a C-level Leadership
Diversity Council, and ramped up our female hiring—since I joined in 2014, we’ve gone from
a company that is 24% women to one that’s nearly 30% [4].” Implementing mentoring
programs that show employees their worth and encourage them to strive for the next step
will lead to a stronger and more empowered team.

Eliminate Gender-Based Roles

Take a look at your organization’s values. Do they include the unique assets that women can
bring to the table? The When Women Thrive Report found that women have unique
strengths in areas that are critical to advancing business, such as adaptability and inclusive
team management [5]. Of course, men may have these attributes as well. It is to an
organization’s greatest advantage to place employees in positions where their strengths will
shine, instead of in roles based on gender. Business leaders can place value on individual
women’s unique strengths and abilities and work to develop them across leadership roles.

Closing the gender gap starts with looking at the way your organization develops all
employees, and making sure you provide equal opportunity from entry level onwards.
Women are a critical part of the workforce—and when women do well, organizations do
well. Providing training in specialized skills and recognizing the power women bring to your
organization will help you advance in a competitive landscape. It doesn’t just benefit your
company and its stakeholders—it benefits the world we live in, too.

https://elearningindustry.com/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace-3-ways-stop

20 Organizations That Address Gender Equality

Human rights are standards that are essential to the full development of individuals and
communities. They allow all people to live with dignity, freedom, equality, justice and peace.
Gender equality is such a basic human right. Many organizations are working day and night
to solve the inequality between men and women. Here’s a list of 20 organizations that
address gender equality.

- InterAction
Since 1992, InterAction, through its Commission on the Advancement of Women, has
worked to advance female empowerment and gender equality in the policy and practice of
InterAction members and other agencies.

- Equality Now
Their mission is also to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and
discrimination against women and girls around the world.

- ProMundo
Promundo is a global leader in promoting gender justice and preventing violence by
engaging men and boys in partnership with women and girls.

- CARE
CARE’s commitment to women’s empowerment and gender equality is based on decades of
expertise in dozens of countries and in every development sector. We see gender as a cross-
cutting issue that we address in every program to make an equal world free of poverty.

- Sonke Gender Justice

Sonke’s vision is a world in which men, women and children can enjoy equitable, healthy
and happy relationships that contribute to the development of just and democratic societies.
They work across Africa to strengthen government, civil society and citizen capacity to
promote gender equality.

- International Planned Parenthood

Gender equality is a human right. It is also essential for eradicating poverty and improving
the lives of future generations. Gender equality is at the heart of all our programming and
advocacy work. IPPF pushes for legal and policy reforms which combat female genital
mutilation (FGM), early forced marriage and other forms of gender discrimination.

- Centre for Health and Social Justice

CHSJ is a resource organisation on issues of men, masculinity and gender, health rights of
marginalized communities and reproductive and sexual health and rights.

- White Ribbon
White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence
against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of
masculinity.

https://www.raptim.org/organizations-that-address-gender-equality/
http://www.excite.com/education/blog/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace